Printer advice, please!

[RBS]

I'm looking to get a new printer. One that prints really good photos, but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I've had good luck with Epson. Does anyone have any advice at all? Anyone have any definites to stay away from?

Thanks!

[Dr Dave]

CNET is usually a reliable source of information.

[Ron Thorne]

Randy, I'm definitely no expert on printers, but as a serious amateur photographer, I do know what I can or cannot tolerate in terms of color resolution and sharpness.

There are two inexpensive printers which come to mind, both of which I've seen output from, and one of which I now own.

My college roommate, also an avid photographer and computer tech, recently purchased a Canon i850 and is very happy with it. He sent me some output which was very impressive. I just saw a used one in like new condition on Amazon.com for $79.99. I've seen them new online for $92.00. I really like the ink management system Canon designed for this.

Here's a very useful resource for digital camera and printer reviews, Steve's Digicams. I've used it many times and trust his objectivity and knowledge.

Here's Steve's review of the Canon i850.

Before I could purchase the Canon for myself, our oldest son and his wife bought us a new HP Photosmart 7760 inkjet printer for us for Christmas, and we've been very happy with it thus far. Darren felt that it was constructed a little bit beefier than the Canon and liked the resolution. It's a breeze to use, with a media card slot right on the front for nearly instant printout of digital photos. They're a little pricier, but still very reasonably priced. The lowest online price I've seen today is $139.99 w/ free ground shipping.



I also have an Alps MD1300 dye sublimation printer which I dearly love, but it's v-e-r-y slow. The output is terrific, however.

[RBS]

Thanks a lot, Ron. That was extremely helpful.

See, I'm thinking of scanning my "headshots" into my computer and then printing them out at home. I think it might save me a lot of money.

Also, I'd like to try scanning pix of our little girl in, and see if they come out well.

Thanks again, my friend. I'll research what you gave me.

[Ron Thorne]

You're welcome, buddy.

I assume from your last post that you don't have a digital camera. Is that correct?

What size is required/expected for headshots, 8X10"? Color or B&W?

[RBS]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

You're welcome, buddy.

I assume from your last post that you don't have a digital camera. Is that correct?

What size is required/expected for headshots, 8X10"? Color or B&W?

Oh, sure I have a digital camera! It's a Fuji FinePix A210. It works great.

For headshots, you're generally expected to have an 8x10 in black and white.

But you usually have a professional photographer take one....

If you want, Ron, I can send you headshot photographer's websites for you to peruse.

Talk to you soon, my friend.

[Ron Thorne]

Randy, I asked whether you had a digital camera because you were talking about scanning, then printing photos, which should be unnecessary in a digital context.

If your most recent headshots were taken relatively recently, you should be able to get a CD, floppy disc or digital copy of the shots via e-mail from your photographer. Any of those will yield better results than scanning, then printing. Remember, every generation produces losses in resolution.

Also, some printers produce better results with B&W images than others, believe it or not. So if that's a priority, take your time and do your homework.

For printing out family photos and the like, your Fuji should produce fine results on a printer such as the HP 7760, by simply inserting your smart media card in a slot on the front, or calling up a photo from some storage place on your computer.

[GoodSpeak]

Listen to this man, RBS.

Father Thorne is an absolute "wiz kid" in all things technical.


He's saved my ass more than once.

[clinthopson]

I've been very happy with my Canon i900. It was about 200 bucks. The only negative is that the ink costs a fucking fortune.

[jaka]

Originally Posted by clinthopson

I've been very happy with my Canon i900. It was about 200 bucks. The only negative is that the ink costs a fucking fortune.

I've worked on advertisements for major printers manufacturers for years now and most of the products will in the end produce similer quality for a similar cost, EXCEPT FOR THE INK.
Try to choose a model with the price of the replacement cartridge in mind, because that's what will matter after some time.

My 2 cents.

[tippy]

Just for my 2 cents, I've been pleased so far with my Epson Stylus CX5400 (under $150). The software works great with WindowsXP. I must admit that I don't really print photos so my advice is worth that much but it has the capability. Also I've been putting off replacing the black ink by printing in assorted colors. Those cartridges are expensive and you don't seem to get much mileage at all with them.

[Pete C]

Dot matrix, baby.

[Cem]

Originally Posted by RBS

See, I'm thinking of scanning my "headshots" into my computer and then printing them out at home. I think it might save me a lot of money.

You may want to do more research on printing places. Maybe, get larger batches printed. My experience with posters & such has led me to believe that for small business, it doesn't make sense to keep a high-grade printer, once you include the cost of ink, paper & cost & repair of the machine. Depends on volume & the job. Find a small printing place that does cash business, giving you a good deal on big jobs. Others may feel differently...

[RBS]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

Randy, I asked whether you had a digital camera because you were talking about scanning, then printing photos, which should be unnecessary in a digital context.

If your most recent headshots were taken relatively recently, you should be able to get a CD, floppy disc or digital copy of the shots via e-mail from your photographer. Any of those will yield better results than scanning, then printing. Remember, every generation produces losses in resolution.

Also, some printers produce better results with B&W images than others, believe it or not. So if that's a priority, take your time and do your homework.

For printing out family photos and the like, your Fuji should produce fine results on a printer such as the HP 7760, by simply inserting your smart media card in a slot on the front, or calling up a photo from some storage place on your computer.

Thanks, Ron. They were taken a few years ago and not with a digital camera. I'll take your advice and start checking things out. As per what Cem said, I'll have to do an ink cartridge, printer and paper estimate and see if it's all worth it. Thank you everybody.

[tippy]

I have a question about compatible ink cartridges which are only a fraction of the manufacturer replacements...do you guys buy them or should they be avoided?

[stonemonkts]

Originally Posted by tippy

I have a question about compatible ink cartridges which are only a fraction of the manufacturer replacements...do you guys buy them or should they be avoided?

Avoid like the Bubonic

[tippy]

Thanks. Glad I asked.

[Ron Thorne]

Randy, whether you ultimately print your own headshots or not, a photo-quality printer for under $150.00 is a wonderful investment for your home computer, believe me. Patti and I just printed out some photos from our last trip to Hawaii last night, in fact. It was fun, inexpensive, and we could be totally selective about what to print and what not to print. You can also crop, remove red eye, enhance or reduce contrast brightness, color balance, etc. with a little practice. You have a young daughter. That alone would be sufficient reason for me to want a photo-quality printer yesterday.

Stonemonkts' advice on printer ink is on-the-money! Buy only the ink made for and by the printer manufacturer. Further, for the best possible printing results, do the same thing with respect to photo paper ... buy the top-of-the-line photo paper made for and by the printer manufacturer. Yes, it's more expensive, but you get what you pay for at the other end of the printer -- superior results. For regular text and graphics printing, I buy Hammermill's best grade paper (heaviest weight/whitest) which is wonderful.

[stonemonkts]

I speak from experience. I tried cheapo "compatible" replacements once. It wasn't pretty. Took a long time for the gunk to work itself out of my printer too. bastards.

[john williams]

Originally Posted by stonemonkts

Avoid like the Bubonic

Absolutely!!! Particularly for printers such as Epson or Canon which don't have integrated heads on the cartridges. Not so much of a problem with HP or Lexmark, except ink is poor quality and smudgy.

Genuine parts only folks!

[RBS]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

Randy, whether you ultimately print your own headshots or not, a photo-quality printer for under $150.00 is a wonderful investment for your home computer, believe me. Patti and I just printed out some photos from our last trip to Hawaii last night, in fact. It was fun, inexpensive, and we could be totally selective about what to print and what not to print. You can also crop, remove red eye, enhance or reduce contrast brightness, color balance, etc. with a little practice. You have a young daughter. That alone would be sufficient reason for me to want a photo-quality printer yesterday.

Stonemonkts' advice on printer ink is on-the-money! Buy only the ink made for and by the printer manufacturer. Further, for the best possible printing results, do the same thing with respect to photo paper ... buy the top-of-the-line photo paper made for and by the printer manufacturer. Yes, it's more expensive, but you get what you pay for at the other end of the printer -- superior results. For regular text and graphics printing, I buy Hammermill's best grade paper (heaviest weight/whitest) which is wonderful.

Thanks, Ron. That's terrific advice! Being that I paid $100 dollars for the Epson C80 that I have now, I see no reason why I couldn't spend an extra 50 bucks to get even better quality. Sounds like a lot of fun, too.

Once, I used that bad ink in my old Epson and it destroyed it, so I learned my lesson... When you say "top of the line" photo paper, what kind do you recommend?

All the best,

Randy

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by RBS

When you say "top of the line" photo paper, what kind do you recommend?

I recommend the highest grade paper made by the same company which made your printer for photos you really care about, and for archival sake. For shots to hang on the refigerator or to show friends at work who will get their greasy fingerprints all over them, a lower grade paper (again, by the same maker as printer) will suffice. For instance, I use HP Premium Plus for the greatest definition, color and contrast, while also providing shelf life comparable to premium commercial papers such as Kodak's best. For less important prints, I'd probably use HP Premium, maybe even their HP Photo paper, which is one notch above their "everyday" entry-level paper.

The same advice applies for Canon printers and Epson, as well. For the most professional, consistent, predictable results, use the paper made for the machine you're using to print your photos. The printers are optimized for these papers, as well as the inks made for their use.

For high-quality printout of text and color graphics, I highly recommend Hammermill paper products. I use their Laser Print 24lb/94 brightness for regular printing needs (about $8.00/ream), or 32lb./94 brightness on special projects for my Alps printer, for instance. The 32lb paper is not cheap ... about $17.25 for a ream (500 sheets), but it's worth every penny in output quality when you need it. They're also acid-free.

[pollo loco]

I do NOT like Hewlett Packard products. Could be just me, but I second the motion on Canon products. I did pay a big price for a Canon that copies, faxes, scans, and prints. I have found this machine (which I bought at Staples) to be "idiot proof." The only prob I had w/ my Epsom printer had to do with speed. It was awful slow, but maybe those machines are faster now.
Staples now has a set of ink cartridges (under the Staples brand) that fits the Canon and costs $14 less than the Canon brand set. BTW, Canon makes these cartridges for Staples.
galatino

[Ron Thorne]

Randy, I just found these reviews from PC World on the two printers I mentioned initially, the HP Photosmart 7760 and the Canon i850. Left to my own devices, I probably would have purchased the Canon i850 or i900, but I'm not at all dissatisfied with the HP.

HP Photosmart 7760 review

Canon i850 review

You'll also find some good general information for shopping for an inkjet photo-quality printer by clicking on some of their links. And, some info and reviews on Epson printers, too.

* The media slots (virtually all formats) on the front of the HP are a rather large plus, in my estimation, as is the ability to print totally independent of your computer, if you'd like.

[clinthopson]

There's an outfit here that refills cartridges for a few bucks. I've been saving up my Canon cartidges a for refills, but now I'm not too sure.

It sounds like Stony has had bad experiences.

Actually, I like the Epson paper for my Canon better than the Canon paper.

I'll have to check out Hammermill.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by RBS

Anyone have any definites to stay away from?

Thanks!

Yeah, Lexmark. I've been meaning to respond to this question since the thread was started.

Clint, I'm no expert on such matters, but everything I've ever read or heard on the subject says you'll regret getting your cartridges refilled. The machines are neither built nor calibrated for anyone else's ink or paper ... period. If the viscosity or consistency of the ink is even slightly different, you could experience major problems. The nozzles/jets in the newer printers are microscopic in size. Your mileage may vary.

Why not find a source for the least expensive Canon cartridges?

[john williams]

No, Lexmark are excellent. We have Lexmark laser printers in all our 130 libraries across the state. I currently run 2 Lex T632s Lasers for bulk printing. Our library systems department ran endurance vs. cost tests for similar spec Lexmarks, Canons, HPs and Epsons. Lexmark came out on top overall and is the recommended brand for all our libraries. I also have a Lexmark 2380 for label printing and a Z64 Ink Jet for student use both are very reliable and produce quality results. Our Lex lasers rarely miss a beat but maybe suffer a paper jam once every 150,000 prints.

I wouldn't buy an Epson Bubble Jet, which are very unpopular over here and have a reputation of getting clogged up with ink. One of the high school librarians uses an Epson which is very poor and if she doesn't use it for awhile dry ink clogs the heads and she needs to send it in for repairs (around $AU100 a time.) She'd be better off trashing it.

I prefer printers with integrated heads. No clogging.

[Ron Thorne]

Well, JBW, I'll defer to you with respect to certain Lexmark printers, but in the price category RBS was interested, I've read and heard considerable grumbling regarding output quality. Thus, my response. Sounds like Lexmark's higher-end printers work just fine.

[john williams]

I have to concede the Z64 has poorer photo quality results than HP for example. However, I made the choice on cost/reliability rather than quality of photo output. Students generally use it to print webpages or assignments and don't really need super high quality photos. However, one staff member used it for a 'foreign job' and printed up about 100 75th birthday invitations (with her own ink supplied). She used photos from different periods of the birthdayees life with pretty stunning results that even surprised me. There were sepia B&W and Colour photos on the invitations all of which looked excellent. I was surprised because the reviews I'd read stated that the Lex produced poor quality photos on highest settings. However, I am aware that HPs and Canons of similar pedigree are reviewed as being quieter, faster and with better quality results, however, Lexs are great workhorses.

I recently bought my partner a rather decent HP (Can't remember the model) all in one photocopier, printer scanner which I am pretty impresed with and like Ron said you don't even need to plug it into the PC to use many of its functions.

[clinthopson]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

Why not find a source for the least expensive Canon cartridges?

I've been getting mine at Staples for about $11 each.

I haven't shopped the net. Do you have any recommendations?